Computer Help Required

[TheRamJam]

if you get a loan of the thing SS has then maybe he can do it for you. Else they only other way is to remove your internal IDE HDD and connect it to another PC.

If you need a hand with this give me a bell...

Taking a drive out of a pc is simples! Unsrew case, pull cables off drive carefully then take remove 4 screws holding drive in place... done.
On the Linux front.. I know nothings! I've only used windows systems. If someone knows if you can view linux files when a drive is plugged into a windows system, or if some software is reqired might help

[Kirkybhoy]

should be able to view linux files by piggy-backing drive onto another system internally or externally.

Not sure what you mean by import "it appears to have "eaten" everything on the hard drive import"

I assume the desktop PC was working ok at one point, as you had your data on there ok. Have you've deleted it, moved it somewhere else, or had a hard drive failure? If you can still boot into linux, a hard drive failure isn't that likely.

Your linux desktop is probably formatted with Ext2 or Ext3, though it could be FAT32. Windows cant natively read Ext2 or 3, though you can get drivers for windows that will let it read drives. http://www.fs-driver.org/
However, there shouldn't be any need to do that.

Linux can read and write to ext2, ext3 and fat without problem. I could be that your external hard drive is formatted as ntfs (windows XP an onwards). Some versions of linux need extensions to be able to access nfts - if you're using one of those then you wont be able to write to your external HD. 2 solutions for that situation:
a) Format the external HD to fat (it sounds like you've tried that)
or
b) Use a 'live' linux CD that supports ntfs write, such as knoppix.

If the problem is that you can't even see the files you want to copy, it seems they may have been accidently deleted/moved. I'd try to boot the desktop with a 'live CD' and use that to browse/search for your files. If the files have been deleted, the more you use the PC, the less the chances of recovery.
To get a live knoppix CD, download it using your laptop or another PC eg from http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirro...linux/knoppix/
Be sure to get one ending in EN unless you want the menus in German eg
KNOPPIX-ADRIANE_V6.2CD-2009-11-18-EN.iso
PS when you burn the CD be sure to burn it as an '.iso', dont just copy the one big file over. Most CD buring s/w has that option.
Then put the CD in your desktop and boot from the CD - you'll probably have to press 'INS' or F4 or F12 or something to get to the boot menu (you may even need to change your BIOS settings to do that) - it all depends on your motherboards BIOS.

If you still cant see the files on your internal hard drive using the live CD you may be looking at data recovery. In that case dont use the desktop until you can get your mate to look at it.

Good luck.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by TheRamJam

I mean the internal HDD of the PC running Linux should be NTFS. Take your old PC apart put it in the cradle thing that SuicideSams on about and connect that to your PC. SHould then just be a matter of drag and drop. Assuming the HDD is not corrupt and/or the plates are damaged.

HTH

Please stop giving advice - a Linux box running NTFS on its primary drive is VERY unlikely, EXT3, EXT4, XFS or ReiserFS, NTFS is a WINDOWS file system and its only recently that support for Read/Write NTFS was hacked to be working.

Come back when you know what you are talking about

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

Come back when you know what you are talking about

Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Tiger 55

Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

Thats Ayrshirers in London to you

Originally Posted by fenjer

Does anyone have any experience with Linux?

I have a desktop that is running on Linux, it was acting as a stop gap between my old pc and my new laptop, and it appears to have "eaten" everything on the hard drive import (and infact is refusing to open the linux eqivilent of "my computer") so now I cant get anything off it on to my new external hard drive. My regular IT guru is in Blackpool, so although he reckons an hour in front of it would probably be enough to fix it, thats one heck of a call out charge...

So I appeal to you oh mighty Org... can anyone fix my pc problems before I take this kind of action and destroy my many photos forever?!

Do you get any errors when trying to look at the files?
What flavour of linux is it ?

If you open an xterm, can you list the files/directories ?

How familiar are you with linux?

Originally Posted by Tiger 55

Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

No, SK is rightly pointing out that TheRamJam doesn't know what he's talking about and his advice should be ignored.

I'd suggest trying to boot up using an Ubuntu CD and seeing if that can see the drive.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by wyrdness

No, SK is rightly pointing out that TheRamJam doesn't know what he's talking about and his advice should be ignored.

I'd suggest trying to boot up using an Ubuntu CD and seeing if that can see the drive.

Thank you

Fenjer, sorry that the above negativeness was the best I could add at the time - I like to be a bit more helpful than that when possible.

It seems like what you really need is somone who understands Linux to pay a visit, see whats going on with your machine THEN advise on what should be done.

Second best would be if you had someone you trusted to see everything on the machine, who could log in remotely and do some diagnostics.

Thirdly, use google, make sure you put Ubuntu in the search with everything else you are searching on.

Linux IS a great thing, and when it goes wrong, its not any worse than when Windows does, its just that there are fewer places to get answers from.

Oops - just re-read your original post - can your guru not log in remotely? It should be relatively simple (if involved) for you to find your IP address, tell your router to allow SSH in to the machine in question and then install the SSH server to allow remote logins to enable someone access to your machine remotely.